


Towards better things

by protect_janais_smile



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Janai - PoV, Love Confessions, Lux Aurea, Other, Queen Regent Amaya
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:42:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25230028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/protect_janais_smile/pseuds/protect_janais_smile
Summary: Amaya has been crowned Queen Regent of Katolis and is having problems adjusting to her new position.Janai ,now Queen of the Sunfire-elves, and Kazi travel to Katolis to help her.
Relationships: Amaya & Gren (The Dragon Prince), Amaya & Janai (The Dragon Prince), Amaya/Janai (The Dragon Prince), Gren/Kazi (The Dragon Prince), Janai & Kazi (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 51





	1. Of Queens and Queen Regents

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo! This my 2nd fic I wrote which is a continuation of my previous fic that I you can find here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23776342.  
> It's not mandatory to read but might clear 1 or 2 things up.
> 
> English is not my first language so I apologize for any errors!  
> Hasn't been betad (I don't have a beta reader and am to shy to ask! yikes!)
> 
> Pictures in this chapter were drawn by my good friend Carrot. Please consider following her on Tumblr! https://carrotlovetodrawtraditionally.tumblr.com/
> 
> You can interact with me on Tumblr if you want! https://protect-janais-smile.tumblr.com/
> 
> Enjoy!

Janai closed the doors with a sigh. A long day of meetings with her advisors and other high ranking elves of Lux Aurea has taken a toll on her. Her head was pounding, so after the last meeting was over, she quickly hurried to her quarters to spend the rest of the day relaxing. She walked through the doorway, closed the door behind her and stepped out of her boots. She let out another sigh when her bare feet met the polished stone. 

Making her way towards the bed she started to unfasten her belt, cape and bracers. She placed the bracers and cape on her bed and took a quick look at them. Her Bracers were golden, with a small symbol of the sun engraved in the middle and her cape was a dark red in the same color of her tunic, with golden runes stitched into the fabric. The Belt is the same she wore when she was Golden Knight with her trusty Sunforge blade resting in its scabbard. Her beige pants, golden shoulder pads and red leather boots with golden accents completed her new outfit as Queen of the Sunfire Elves. 

She liked it alot. It wasn't the same style that Khessa chose, with almost nothing but gold, but a throwback to the clothes her Grandmother Aditi wore. A nice blend of red and gold. She still remembered the first time Amaya saw her in it. Seeing Amaya sitting there, slightly blushing, staring at her with her lips slightly parted was worth the trouble she went through to get it right. 

With her cape and bracers out of the way, she removed her shoulder pads and belt, placing them both on the armor stand next to the mirror in the corner of her quarters. She then placed her crown on the nightstand, walked over to her work desk and poured herself a cup from her personal tea-set. A cup of tea always helped her relax when she felt stressed. Taking a sip from the cup she took a moment to savour the slightly sweet fruity taste of the tea before walking out onto the balcony. She stepped outside, sat down on the balustrade, took a sip from her tea and took in the beautiful sight in front of her that was Lux Aurea.

`The golden city indeed´ , she thought to herself. The sun was slowly setting on the horizon, painting the city in various shades of orange,red and yellow. Janai let her gaze drift across the landscape until it reached the Sunforge. Shining brightly like the sun itself. ´Perhaps even brighter after we purified it. I intend to keep it that way`. It was only a few weeks ago that the sunforge was purified, but the effect it had on the city and the entire sunfire was immediat. At the time not many of the inhabitants of Lux Aurea knew what exactly happened during the ritual, but eventually the story of how their queen and the human general purified the Forge spread across the populace. 

The Human General, a human with a pure heart. She was so much more than that. Dangerous, smug, kind, courageous, fiercely loyal. Perhaps the only person in the world that can match her in both combat and temper. The only Person that can truly understand her. “Amaya” , Janai said out loud to herself with a smile. 

How could it be that simply thinking about this woman removed all the stress from her soul and filled her with nothing but happiness? Janai knew the answer: Love. She loved Amaya. It wasn't something that took her long to figure out. How Amaya subtly flirted with her, how they always stole quick glances at each other whenever they could to how they seemed to just understand each other. Despite all these things, it still took her all the courage she could muster to confess her feelings to Amaya before she left Lux Aurea. She may have never done so if it weren't for her old mentor Avidor. 

Avidor was her personal mentor when she was younger. A tall older elven male with greyish hair and blazing red eyes. An experienced soldier and one of if not the best swordsman in the Sunfire Elves-forces. The man was like a father to Janai. Guiding her, teaching her, showing her what it means to be a good leader for her people. They would have long conversations in which he would tell Janai all sorts of things about the world, other elves, humans and dragons. During one of their conversations, Avidor confessed that one of the things he regretted most in his life was that he never started a family on his own. “Don't make the same mistake I did”, he said ,”if you find someone that makes you happy, that completes you, that stands by your side through everything the world throws at you, by Sol Regen, never let them go…...unless it's a human”, he added with a laug, “life's too short to be afraid of love.” Those words gave Janai a lot to think about that evening, little did she know that they would help her get the love of her life.

`I wonder where the old man is at the moment, probably training new soldiers in some far away garrison, knocking all of them to the ground. I could really use someone like him right now, with all these so-called “advisors” bothering me. He'd probably knock a few of them out just for fun.´  
She decided that she would send a few letters and messengers out to find the man and ask him to join her at the court as her personal advisor. That way she had at least one person in her court that had her back at all times. 

`I wonder who would win in a fight between him and Ama´, a few loud knocks pulled her from her thoughts. Looking down from the balcony she tried to find the source of the noise, but found nothing where the sound could have originated from. Most of the court was rather empty, only a handful of elves were still walking around the palace-outskirts, finishing their last daily-tasks before the sun disappeared behind the horizon. Janai tried to take another sip from her tea but the noise returned.

3 knocks. Coming from her quarters. Janai had no clue who would bother her this late in the day, especially since she ordered not to be disturbed under any circumstances. What good was it to be queen when her orders are ignored. It knocked on the door again, 3 times in rapid succession. Whoever dared to disturb her was persistent, she had to admit that. Janai sighed and made her way back inside to find out who her visitor was.

She made her way towards the door., placing the now empty cup on her desk and in her hurry almost knocked down a book that was resting on the edge. The title of the book was “Katolis sign language”. Now Janai knew who was at the door to her quarters: it was Kazi. Today was one of the evenings that was usually reserved for learning sign language with them. She completely forgot about it. Janai moved to book closer to the center of her desk and hurried to the door and opened it, revealing a smiling, slightly blushing and nervous Kazi in their usual attire. They were holding a piece of sealed parchment in their hand. 

“Hello Kazi. I apologize, today has been busy and I must have forgotten about our lesson. Please, come in.” They entered her quarters and began to answer, both speaking and signing: “You have nothing to apologize for your Radiance. One of the guards told me that you wished to be left alone, but I didn't know if that meant that our lesson was canceled or not.” 

Janai closed the door behind her. “No it's quite alright. I didn't mean to cancel our lesson but today has left me with little to no rest, rushing from one meeting to the next. And please Kazi I told you before, you can call me Janai when we´re in private like this” , she started smirking, “ unless you want me to address you as royal interpreter”. 

“No no no it´s quite alright your high- I mean Janai. You have made a lot of progress over the last few weeks, despite your duties. I'm confident that you will be fluent in sign language in no time.” Kazi has become a close friend to Janai over the course of the last couple of months. She had very few of those close by at the moment, half of them were on the other side of the Breach.

“Thank you Kazi. There are two reasons for my rapid progress: You as my teacher and my desire to communicate with Amaya in her own language. I can't have her read my lips all the time now can I?” Janai admitted with a smile. “But enough of that, please take a seat and pour yourself a cup of tea so we can continue where we left off.” 

They sat down at the table and Janai poured herself another cup of tea. She noticed that Kazi was looking rather nervous. They were still holding on the parchment she spotted earlier. At first Janai thought it had something to do with signs ,but it slowly dawned on her that there was more to it than that. She was about to ask Kazi about it, but they beat her to it.

“There is another reason why I had to speak with you today. A messenger delivered a couple of sealed letters, one is meant for the queen's eyes only. This could normally have waited until tomorrow, but I thought that you would read it as soon as you got it.” That piqued Janais interest. Kazi slowly lifted the letter on the desk and placed it in the empty space between the two. The seal on the letter showed two uneven towers, a flag flying in the wind was visible on top of one of them. 

“King Ezran sent a letter? Why? Has something happened?” Janai was getting more worried by the second. First Ezran asks Amaya to return to Katolis as soon as possible and now he writes her a letter as well? There was something going on. Janai was sure of it and the only way to find out what was to read the letter. 

She picked up the letter, broke the seal and unrolled it. The first few words written on it were not what she expected :

-

My Sun,

I´m sorry it took me so long to send you a letter after my sudden departure from your side.  
My Nephew ordered me back to Katolis to discuss a matter with him that I hoped would never be brought up. He had to deal with the burden of the crown since his father died. While he has many capable advisors at his side, he's still only a 10-year-old boy who was thrown into this position without a choice. A position which he thinks he won't be able to fill. He asked me if I would step in as Queen Regent for him until he came of age. It's something that Viren proposed after the death of Ezran's father, but I declined it at the time because I knew that my nephews were still alive. It seems I don't have a choice this time. I simply won't let Ezran sacrifice the rest of his childhood because it's expected of him. I cannot. If I must give some of my years to give my nephew a happy childhood, then so be it. 

Things are moving swiftly now, and I will be crowned by the time this letter reaches you.  
The only regret I have is that it will limit the time that I can spend with you, my love. I can only hope that fate brings us together again as it did back at the Breach. I love you with all that I am,

Yours

Amaya

-

It was a lot to process at once. She had expected the letter to be about some sort of meeting that Ezran would invite her to discuss the newly found peace between the human and elven kingdoms. ` Or rather kingdom, seeing as only the sunfire-elves know what happened at the spire. The others have not responded to my letters yet.´ 

“So what news are there? Does it say anything about the general?” Kazi asked, pulling Janai out of her thoughts. She put down the letter, pinched her nose and let out a long breath. This was going to take a lot of explaining.

“Amaya is not a general anymore, she's been crowned Queen Regent of Katolis. She's doing it for her nephew so that he may have a normal childhood without the burden of the crown.” It sounded perfectly reasonable out loud but still, that doesn't mean that Janai has to like it. Kazi was showing a little bit of surprise when Janai told them, but not as much as she expected. Then she remembered what they said earlier. There were two letters. She looked at her friend on the other side of the table, looking down at the ground.

“Kazi, the other letter. Who-” 

“It was meant for me” Kazi admitted, “Gren wrote to me about how things were going in Katolis and that he missed me.” Janai couldn’t help but notice that Kazi blushed a bit when they mentioned Gren. There must be something going on between them, but she decided not to push the subject and let them continue. “He also said that he was worried about Amaya. She is under a lot of stress because of her new position, but he didn't say what it was. It's really taking a toll on her, so much that she even refused to eat … oh no.” 

“What Kazi? Amaya refused to eat what?” Janai was almost yelling. This whole situation had really affected her. 

Kazi continued after straightening her glasses: ” It appears that gen- Queen Amaya refused to eat breakfast at some point.” They looked Janai straight in the eye when they said it. 

This would have sounded weird or perhaps funny to any person hearing it. But only the people that knew Amaya had a clue how bad that was. Janai let herself fall back in her chair.That woman was adamant when it came to breakfast. It wasn't long after they arrived in Lux Aurea after the battle at the spire that Amaya asked Janai if she had eaten breakfast yet. Janai dismissed it as an attempt to make smalltalk at the time, little did she know that it was a serious question. A mistake that she regretted for the next few minutes as Amaya began to rant about how breakfast is “the most important meal of the day” and that it should never be skipped.

She was amazed at how well Gren interpreted for Amaya at that moment. It was clearly something that was important to her. Janai apologized after the rant and told Amaya that she would take care to find the time for breakfast everyday from now on, to which Amaya replied with a quick “I´ll make sure of it”. The very next morning Amaya, with Gren at her side, was waiting at her door to make sure Janai would in fact eat breakfast. So the fact that she skipped breakfast at least once made Janai really worried. 

“Gren also wrote that I should tell you something.” At that, Janai focused again. After all she heard just now, everything coming from the man who is Amaya’s best friend would certainly be important. “Well uhm he wrote that…” they were a bit nervous “ She was there for you when you needed her, even if you didn't know it. There are certain things that I can’t help her with, that she won’t talk to me about. I´m telling you this because I know Amaya. She wouldn’t ask you on her own because of her pride, but she needs you here.” 

Janai had to avert her gaze from Kazi. The man knew Amaya better than anyone and now he was telling her that she needed her? How bad could it have gotten? One thing was certain, she wouldn't wait here to find out. No matter what her advisors would say. Amaya was there for her during her darkest time and it seemed it was time to return the favor. 

She looked up from the ground, locking her eyes with Kazi. “I´m going to Katolis. I can’t let her alone with this. I won’t.” 

“I wish to join you” The determination in their voice startled Janai for a second,” You and Amaya are my friends. I won’t let you do this on your own.” It made her happy that Amaya has so many people that care about her. She wasn’t going to say no to the young elf. 

“Thank you Kazi...it means alot to me. I will start packing immediately and I suggest that you do the same. We have a long journey ahead of us and we need to be well rested...and pack for a longer stay” Janai added with a smile. The young interpreter smiled back at her, rose from her chair and quickly left the room after wishing her friend a good night. 

Janai would inform her advisors about her decision tomorrow, for now she had to pack her gear and clothes. Her eyes drifted to the small box resting on her nightstand. She walked over to it and took out the bracelet that was within, holding it out infront of her. It was a fine piece of jewelry, orange jewels engraved with sunfire-runes on a golden band. Was this the correct time perhaps? To give Amaya a gift that had such a big meaning to Janai? Perhaps it was. 

She put the bracelet back into its box and placed it next to her crown on the nightstand.  
The sun was now starting to dissapear behind the horizon. Janai let the last rays of sunshine wash over her face as she made a silent promise. 

`Even if we can't find heaven, I'm gonna stand by you  
Even if we can't find heaven, I'll walk through hell with you  
Love, you're not alone, 'cause I'm gonna stand by you´


	2. Arrival in Katolis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janai and Kazi reach Katolis Castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank for for continuing to read my story! This chapter will be shorter than the first one.  
> There isn't alot of stuff happening in this chapter but it's a bit important none the less.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy it!

“How are you holding up?” Janai shouted back at her companion.

“I’m quite alright, but how much longer is it? As much as I enjoy the view, it’s getting a bit uncomfortable.” Kazi had to admit.

That made Janai chuckle. It’s been 2 days since they left Lux Aurea on the back of Janai’s Twin-Tailed-Inferno-Tooth-Tiger. They had left early in the morning to cover most of the distance on the first day and arrive at Katolis Castle on the second. It has been a while since Janai had to travel such distances with her tiger, yet alone with another person on his back. The last time was when she traveled to the Breach to defend it against the humans. 

As much as Janai would have liked to stop by and see how the situation on the Breach was they didn’t have the time. They only packed a few supplies to last them on their trip to Katolis in order to save weight and precious time. More weight would have slowed them down. Even so it seemed that her tiger was as eager to get to Katolis as his rider. When Janai came to the Pyro’s stable to saddle him the morning they left she began talking to him as well.

It was something Janai had been doing with him ever since she got him. He might be only an animal but it seemed that he could understand her. So when she said that they were going to Katolis he gave her a curious look. “Don’t give me that look! I have my reasons. Amaya needs me right no-” she was cut off as Pyro shoved his face into hers and started to rub it. He stopped when Janai gave him a few pads on his neck. It was reassuring for Janai to know that her tiger thinks it's a good Idea too, at least she thought that's what the head rub meant. She was glad to have a companion like him.

“We’re almost there, I can already make out the castle in the distance.” At least Janai thought that was the castle. She’s never seen it before so she couldn’t be sure. The rest of the kingdom however felt strangely familiar to her. 

Janai and Kazi had no idea what the world looked like on the other side of the breach, they only heard from it in books or tales. They were pleasantly surprised when they realised that it didn't look much different than Xadia. At least while they were flying over. Green as far as the eye could see interrupted only once in a while by a few rivers and lakes. So beautiful that Kazi almost lost their grip on Janai while they were looking around. It was a lot to take in. 

Eventually they reached the outskirts of Katolis Castle and began circling it to get a better look at the castle and the surrounding village. Once they finished their rounds they landed on the outskirts of the village after Kazi reminded Janai that landing in the middle of the village without warning might shock the people there. They didn’t want to cause panic among the inhabitants. The new found peace was still very young after all. 

Making their way towards the village Janai heard the loud rumble of thunder in the distance. `We arrived just in time.´ She had spotted the dark clouds a while ago and pressed Pyro on to fly faster as a result. They made their way towards the village. Janai made Pyro stop right as they were about to enter and turned to Kazi.

“It’s quite possible that most of the villagers have never seen an elf yet alone an Inferno-Tiger before, so let’s make sure we make a good impression. I don’t wanna make things harder for Amaya by causing a diplomatic incident just because I decided to pay her a visit.” The statement was meant more for herself than Kazi. Janai was quite sure that Kazi wouldn’t cause any trouble but the same could not be said for her and Pyro. The question would be whether or not it would be intentional. She had no clue how the people of Katolis would react to two Sunfire-elves riding into their village on the back of an Inferno -Tiger. 

“I think it’s best if we limit our time in the village and head straight to the castle. The less people notice us the better and anyone curious enough to approach us will probably think twice about it since we have Pyro with us.” That made Pyro look back at the two. Kazi instantly hid behind Janai’s back. She stroked her tigers mane a few times and started heading into the village.

Kazi and Janai were quickly noticed by the villagers but none of them did anything besides giving them curious glances. They clearly had no idea who they were and what they were doing here. The humans all made room for them as the trio made their way through the village. It made their walk a lot calmer than anticipated. 

Kazi and Janai both enjoyed their ride through the village. They obviously had never seen a human village before. All the people buzzing around like bees, the smell of freshly made cookies, the shouting of the merchant that quickly stopped when they spotted the 2 sunfire-elves and their tiger riding through the village. `Not much different than Lux Aureas market except with fewer elves.´ The village was nothing compared to the castle however.

Surely enough they rounded the corner of a building and stood in front of the bridge that connected the castle with the village. Janai rode Pyro closer to the edge of the bridge so she could have a look down while they made their way towards the gatehouse. `Impressive. Whoever says that humans are below us elves is lying.´ She took a look back at her companion who wisely decided to not look down after they almost fell off earlier.

As they drew closer to the gate Janai noticed a man pacing around in front of it. He was dressed in a mix of gold and red clothes over his grey pants. A blue pauldron was strapped to his right shoulder. His signature red hair was grown out a bit. `Well at least that horrible beard is gone. But what is he doing here?´ He spotted them as they drew closer, a confused expression written all over his face.

“Janai? And Kazi? What are you two doing here?” Gren asked the two elves before quickly realising his mistake. He quickly composed himself and bowed to the queen as it was custom to the sunfire elves. “Apologize your Radiance. What do we owe the pleasure of your visit?”

“Now that was odd” Janai looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Well first of all Commander Gren, I gave you permission to use my first name back in Lux Aurea. There is no need for titles under friends.” She said the last bit with a smile. “And second, I am here to visit the newly crowned Queen Regent of Katolis.”

Gren relaxed a bit but gave Janai a disturbed look. “Then you will have to find her first.” He stated with a hard expression.

“What do you mean?” Janai was getting even more worried about Amaya. `The letter had me worried enough and now he’s saying that she isn’t here?´

“She wrote out into the Valley of Graves about an hour ago and she hasn’t returned yet. What’s worrying me is that her horse did return, probably scared by the thunder.” The sound of thunder rumbled through the sky again as to undermine his point. 

“Why have you not sent anyone after her?” Janai was furious with worry. Amaya was alone, without a horse in a place called the Valley of Graves. She didn't like the sound of that at all.

Gren actually surprised Janai when he shouted at her face:” Because there are some things that I can’t help her with!” 

Janai was taken back for a second. Gren used this pause to press on.

“Her sister’s grave is there. She’s been visiting it a lot lately. I’ve tried to ask her about it but I’m not getting anything out of her. She’s been closed off ever since she’s been crowned. I have been with her for so long now and I’ve never seen her like this. There are certain things that I just can’t help her with, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.”

Of course Janai knew what he meant. Her and Janai both lost their sisters, their queens in tragic ways. It was one of their private conversations held with pen and paper during a late night when Amaya brought it up. Janai had suspected that Amaya had made a similar experience but never found the courage to ask her about it. The look that Amaya gave her while she pinned her down in front of the sunforge told her all she needed to know at the time. 

She gritted her teeth and looked at Gren. “Alright listen, I will find her and bring her back to the castle. In the meantime you and Kazi can catch up on things.” Her gaze drifted from a blushing Gren to a blushing Kazi. `Well that was easy. That confirms my suspicions at least´ With that Kazi slid off of Pyro and walked over to Gren. They shared a quick look before Gren walked over to Janai who had already turned Pyro towards the edge of the bridge, ready to fly away.

“The valley is located south of the castle. Just look out for a small valley with a small lake and waterfall surrounded by, well, graves and statues.” He admitted a bit sheepish before becoming serious again. ”I don’t know if you realize it, but you mean alot to her. You’re probably the only person in the world that can understand what she’s going through. Please don’t let her down.” He said the last part with a pleading look.

She gave him the most determined look she could muster, nodded and gave Pyro the command. He spread his wings and they flew up in the sky, followed by the sound of thunder.

Janai turned Pyro directly south right after they gained enough altitude. `A valley with a lake and a waterfall surrounded by graves and statues. Shouldn’t be too hard to find. I just hope it's not too far. This storm is getting really close.´ She looked behind her and saw the dark clouds. They would reach the castle in a while and the valley shortly after. 

She had to hurry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this late at night so sorry for any typos or mistakes!  
> If you do see any don't be afraid tell me about them! 
> 
> Again, thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Uff this took a while to write.  
> What's so special about this bracelet? I'll never tell....maybe in the next chapter.  
> I do wanna add more chapters to this and do have a general idea where I wanna go with this  
> but it might take me a while. So please be patient!
> 
> Janai's promise is taken from the song "Stand By you" by Rachel Platten.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, pls leave kudos or perhaps even a comment.  
> I'd appreciate it.


End file.
